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A nitrogen leak at the Foundational Food Group in Gainesville, Georgia, which killed six people and injured 11, did not stop the Latino community from going back to work the following morning. Gainesville is a city of 43,000, about 40 percent of them Latino. The accident highlighted the city’s illness and economic hardship that has been rampant since the pandemic began. Gainesville’s undocumented workers have been afraid to get COVID-19 treatments or testing in the last few months. And Jennifer McCall, a local immigration lawyer, said right after the accident, about 130 workers fled the plant before getting medical checks because they were frightened of deportation. The New York Times
In other national immigration news…
El Paso Walmart Shooting Survivor Deported
Rosa, a survivor of the 2019 mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart, had been assisting law enforcement as a witness for the deadly attack. But she was arrested Wednesday over two outstanding traffic citations from 2015, and was quickly deported to Mexico, the nonprofit Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services said. Rosa was outside of the Walmart with her sister when they saw the gunman start shooting others. “Rosa is an important witness in the case against the alleged shooter & came out of the shadows to cooperate [with] law enforcement about what she saw,” The Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services said in a Facebook post. Huff Post
U.S. Army Officer’s Deported Mother Hopes To Return Home
Rebollar Gomez was deported over a year ago despite her efforts to remain in the U.S. based on her son’s U.S. military service. She is still hoping she will eventually be allowed to live in San Diego, where she has lived for decades. Her hope grew when President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris won the 2020 election. When Harris was California’s senator, she supported Gomez’s campaign to remain in the U.S. Gomez had tried applying to a special program that protects U.S. military personnel family members from deportation, but U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services denied her. The San Diego Union-Tribune
ICE Detainee’s Translator Likely Saved His Life
Carlos left everything in Brazil after death threats and his son’s 2019 muder. He eventually made it to Mexicali with his sister and two nephews, aiming to cross the border for a new life in the U.S. But after border patrol agents asked Carlos questions in English when he only knew Portuguese, Carlos was separated from his family and sent to the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico. Since Carlos could not communicate, he had no control over his immigration process, and his health deteriorated. But after being connected with a translator from Brazil, Carlos was released last May and has since found work in the U.S. Mother Jones
Remains of 227 Migrants Found Last Year in Arizona
The remains of 227 migrants who had likely recently crossed the border were found last year in the Arizona desert, according to advocacy group Humane Borders. That marks the deadliest year on record for migrants unlawfully crossing in the U.S. Douglas Ruopp, chair of Humane Borders, added that it was the region’s hottest summer in recorded history. About 7,000 migrants, possibly more, are believed to have died near the U.S.-Mexico border since 1998. Crossing into Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California along the 1,954-mile border can be dangerous as migrants face high barriers, miles of wilderness with intense temperatures and a rapidly flowing Rio Grande. The Guardian